No-hawker makeover for Andheri station on Harbour line

Under the new Rs 20-crore makeover plan, officials are going to ensure that there are no stalls or hawkers at the platform and only passengers with tickets will be allowed

For rail commuters, soon jostling with the crowds that gather around hawkers and stalls would be a thing of the past. The rail authorities are undertaking a makeover plan for Andheri station, especially for the Harbour line, in which there will be a provision for no stalls and hawkers on platforms making travel a bit easier for commuters.

The external view of Andheri station after makeover

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation is spending Rs 20 crore for the makeover of Andheri station and is spending Rs 103 crore in all on three stations, namely Andheri, Jogeshwari and Goregaon, till which the Harbour line would be extended to. This is the first time in the Mumbai division where a railway station is been made where only passengers with valid tickets will be allowed.

The booking counters at the new station will be shifted to an elevated structure

“These stations will be of high standards and will have all world-class facilities such as escalators, elevators and multi-storied buildings. Also, we have made provisions to not allow stalls and hawkers on the platform,” said a senior Western Railway (WR) official.

According to WR authorities and MRVC, the work under the MUTP phase II will be completed soon and the station will be open to the public by April 2014. Officials added that according to the plans, there will be nine stalls and six booking counters after the escalators.

The MRVC will be spending Rs 20 crore for the upgradation of Andheri station, which will include escalators, elevators and multi-storied buildings. The new station should be open to the public in April 2014. According to plans, the new building will consist of nine stalls and six booking counters. Pic/Kiran Bhalerao

Speaking about the change, an official from MRVC added, “We used to get several complaints from passengers about the crowds that would gather around the stalls making it difficult to walk on platforms. Hence, our new plans will make it easy for them.”

Official speak Ity Pandey, senior divisional commercial manager, said, “There is no provision for stalls and even booking offices will be elevated. This will be the first railway station where only passengers will be allowed to enter the platforms.”